UNE team wins national Teaching and Learning Awards

Connect

UNE team wins national Teaching and Learning Awards

A UNE team has received two of the prestigious annual Australian Learning and Teaching Council awards for University Teaching, which recognise both excellence in teaching and innovative programs th…

The University of New England’s Assistant Director of Student Services, Ms Rhonda Leece, and her “Early Alert” team have received two of the prestigious annual Australian Learning and Teaching Council awards for University Teaching, which recognise both excellence in teaching and innovative programs that enrich the student experience. The Australian Learning and Teaching Council’s last ever awards have honoured 22 top teachers and 10 innovative student learning programs.

With a small number of recipients from other Australian universities, Ms Leece and the team received an award in the category “2011 Awards for Programs that Enhance Student Learning” in recognition of their contribution to the “Early Alert” system. For their work on “Early Alert” they were also awarded a “Citation of Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning”.

“Early Alert” monitors student data continuously to detect those students who may be at risk of discontinuing studies or who may require additional support, with the aim of providing assistance to any of UNE’s 18,000 on-campus and external students. The system was recognised as being an innovative program that enriches the student experience. The “Early Aler”t Team includes Ed Campbell, Blake Velleley and Frances Munro.

UNE’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, was delighted with the outcome. “Rhonda and her team’s contribution to giving our students better learning opportunities and a better chance of success has been rightly recognised,” he said. “Our University has a strong culture of mentorship and caring for our students. We count on people like Rhonda and our Student Support team to put the systems in place which give outstanding support to our students. ‘Early Alert’ is an exemplar.”

The ALTC Program Awards, which are worth $25,000 each, will be presented during a ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday 16 August.

The University of New England respects and acknowledges that its people, programs and facilities are built on land, and surrounded by a sense of belonging, both ancient and contemporary, of the world's oldest living culture. In doing so, UNE values and respects Indigenous knowledge systems as a vital part of the knowledge capital of Australia.